Disk harrow



` (No Model.) 3 sheets-sheet 1. y R.- W. HARDIE.

DISK HARROW.

No. 401,745. Patented Apr. Z3, 1889.

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N. Ferias. Phmumgmpher, wasmngru". n. c.

(No Model.)

3 sheets-sheet 2. R. W. HARDIE.

DISK HARROW.

Patented Apr; 23, 18819.

, NA PETERS. Phoio-Lnnugmphm'. Washnglun. D. C,

(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 3.

R. W. HARDIB. DISK HARROW.

No. 401,745. Patented Apr. 23. 1889.

(www. mondana/mp NITE @Tetas arent Orifice.

ROBERT 7. l-IARDIE, OF ALBANY, NEWT YORK.

DlSK HARROW.

SPECIFGATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 401,745, dated April 23,18189.

Application filed September 15, 1888. Serial No. 285,553. (No model.)

To @ZZ whom, t may concern:

Be it known that I, ROBERT XV. HARDIE, a citizen of the United States,and a resident of Albany, in the county of Albany and State of New York,havey invented certain new and useful Improvements in Disk Harrows, ofwhich the following is a specification.

My invention relates, generally, to that class of harrows which havegangs of revolving cutters adapted to be moved backward and forward atan angle with the line of draft.

The general object of my invention is to provide such harrows with meanswhereby the cutter-gangs may be adjusted at an angle to the line ofdraft by the power of the team and the resistance of the earth.

My invention consists, broadly, in providing a harrow having backwardlyand forwardly movable gangs of Arevolving cutters with whiffletreesadapted to be moved together backward and forward independently of apole, doubletree, or cross-bar, and in further providing such a harrowwith draftequalizing mechanism of any suitable construction, connectingthe wliiiietrees and the free ends of the cutter-gangs, whereby abackward or forward movement of both whiftletrees causes a backward orforward movement of the free ends of the cutter-gangs.

My invention consists, further, in providing means for moving backwardor forward said whiffletrees, draft-equalizing mechanism, and also inproviding means for locking or securing the whiflietrees and the freeends of the cutter-gangs in any desired position, and in furtherproviding means for limiting the movement of the cutter-gangs and thewhifiietrees.

In the drawings, Figure l represents a side view of a harrow havingbackwardly and forwardly movable cutter-gangs pivoted to a crossbar,independently backwardly and for wardly movable whifletrees, anddraft-equal izing mechanism connecting the whiflietrees with the freeends of the cutter-gangs, and means for drawing the whifetrees backwardand locking them in any desired position. Fig. 2 represents a plan viewof a harrow containing the parts shown in Fie. l. Fi 3 represents afront viewof the same. Fig. 4 represents a side view of a portion of apole having a track mounted thereon, a slide carrying a pulley moving onsaid track, and a chain connected to said slide adapted to be connectedwith a hand-lever, the whole being a modiiication of means adapted tomove the whifiietrees backward and forward. Fig. 5 represents across-section of the same parts, taken on line 0c .1/ of Fig. 4. Fig. 6represents a side view of the parts shown in Fig. 4 connected withswinging arms to which whiffietrees are attached, adapted to be movedtogether backward and forward by means of a lever attached to the pole.Portions of the crossbar and the upper end of the cuttergang beam arealso shown. Fig. 7 represents a cross-section ltaken on line @c y inFig. 6. Fig. S represents a plan view of a pole, sliding mechanismattached to its under surface, arms pivotally attached to the pole attheir inner ends, whiffletrees connected with the outer ends of saidarms, and means for connecting the whiflietrees together. resents across-section of a pole, with a front view of the swinging arms shown inFig. 8. Fig. lO represents a side view of swinging arms pivotallyattached at their upper end to a pole and carrying on their lower endalink, and a yoke which supports a bar pivotally attached to the yokeand extending transversely thereto. Fig. ll represents a crosssection ofapole and a front view of the parts' shown in Fig. 10, the chain beingremoved. Fig. 12 represents parts similar in construction to those shownin Fig. l0, the swinging arms being drawn back. Fig. 13 represents aplan view of the parts shown in Fig. l0 removed from the pole. Fig. lerepresents a plan view of the parts shown in Fig. l2 removed from thepole, with a chain engaging with the pulley.

In the drawings, A represents a pole attached to a crossbar,(represented by B.) Braces X extend from the cross-bar to each side ofthe pole and brace it against strains of any kind. Att-ached to the poleis a crossbar or doubletree, E. This bar may be pivotally connected withthe pole by means of a bolt and nut or similar device, so as to have aslight motion on said pivot, the same as a doubletree of ordinaryconstruction. I prefer, however, to securely fasten said bar to thepole, so that it will be simply a cross-bar,

' perfectly rigid and incapable of any kind of Fig. 9 rep-l IOO f toengage.

movement on the pole. To the ends of this doubletree or cross-barwhiflietrees F are attached in any suitable manner which will permitsaid whiffletrees to be moved back ward or forward togetherindependently of any movement of the doubletree or cross-bar.

In the drawings, arms D, adapted to move in the arc of a circle, arepivotally attached to the ends of the doubletree or cross-bar. To theouter ends of said swinging arms the whiffletreesare attached, adaptedto move backward and forward on said doubletree or cross-barindependently thereof. Castings W are attached to the ends of thecross-bar or doubletree, and are provided with ribs w, which serve asstops to limit the backward and forward movement of the whiliietrees.The cross-bar or doubletree is shown in this instance placed upon theupper surface of the pole. A chain, H, connects with each of thewhililetrees and passes around a pulley, U, which is pivotally connectedwith a yoke, J. This yoke J moves freely upon a pin connecting the lowerends of the swinging arms G. The same pin supports a link, S. To thislink are attached chains connected with the free ends of thecutter-gangs. Instead of chains, other mechanism having similarcapabilities may be used. I The upper portions of these arms are thickerthan the lower portions, forming offsets. The lower extremity of eachoffset terminates in a sector, as shown by g. The edge of the sector isshown grooved, adapted to hold in said groove a chain, Q, which connectsthe` swinging arms Gwith a hand-lever, L, pivoted to the pole. Pins maybe inserted in the edge of the sector, with which links of a chain maybe made These arms are pivotally connected at their upper ends-to a poleby means of a bolt or pin passing through the upper ends of the arms andthe casting c on the pole.

The chain Q is shown connected to the sides of the swinging arms G bymeans of a pin, g. The other ends of these chains are connected with across-rod, R,which isloosely attached to the hand-lever- The hand-.leveris shown provided on its forward edge with a series of holes, throughwhich the bolt or pin may be passed which supports the crossrod R uponthe lever. By changing said pin and cross-rod from one hole to anotherthe connection between the lever and the movable equalizing mechanism ismade adjustabie, so asrto allow the lever to be inclined in a positionsuited to the length of the arm of the operator. A latch and a sectonM,may l e used to lock the lever in any desired position. When thehand-lever is locked in position, the forward movement of the swingingarms G is limited.

-Instead of swin ,'ing` arms G, a track, T, may befastened to the pole.A slide, O, may be placed upon the track, and a hand-lever maybeconnected with the slide by means of chains Q, or devices having'similar capabilities, as shown in Fig. 6. A pulley, U, maybe attached tothe slide, and the chain H passed around the surface of the pulley andconnected to the whiffletrees, as shown in Fig. 6.

'To the upper surface or end of the cuttergang beam C a joint isattached, which will permit both vertical and lateral motion of the gangbeam. In this instance the joint is shown to consist of ears Z, attachedto the upper surface of the beam. Between the ears the head of aneyebolt, V, is placed. A pin passing through the ears and the head ofthe bolt forms a hinge adapted to allow vertical motion of thegang-beam. The shank of the bolt V, which extends up through thecrossbar B, forms a pivot on which the cutter-gang is adapted to movebackward and forward. A joint that will permit only a backward andforward movement of the cutter-gangs is sufficient for the operation ofmy invention. I prefer, however, to use a joint having the capabilitiespossessed by the one shown herein.

Instead of attaching the whiffletrees to a cross bar or doubletree, thecross-bar or doubletree may be entirely dispensed with, and the arms Dmay be lengthened, as shown by N in Fig. S, and pivoted directly to thepole.

Castings YV, provided with stops fw, similar to those shown in Fig.l 2,may, if desired, be attached directly1 to the pole to limit the backwardand forward movement of the swinging arms N. These lengthened arms N,pivot-ed at one end to the pole and carrying a whithetree on the other,may be used in connection with a slide attached to the pole, as shown inFig. S, or with the swinging arms G, carrying a yoke, J Stop mechanismof any kind may be placed between the gang-beam and the cross-bar tolimitI the upward movement of the gang-beam- Instead of the pulley, abar, P, may be pivoted either to the slide O or the yoke J. A chain orflexible connections of any kind may connect the ends of the pivoted barP with the whiffletrees. Rods may be used with such a bar instead ofchains.

Chains or rods having` similar capabilities may be used to connect thewhiffletrees directly with the hand-lever, and a yoke similar to J,supporting a pulley, may be attached to the hand-lever instead ofthecross-rod R. The whiflietrees are held at the same relative distancefrom each other by means of connections of any kind, as the chain I-I,which connects the whiffletrees together.

When all the parts of the harrow are together and the hand-lever leansforward, as shown in Fig. l, the chains Q, which connect the hand-leverwith the swinging arms Gunder the pole, being loosened, the swingingarms will be free to move forward. The whiftletrees and the armsattached to the doubletree or crossbar or to the Apole direct will alsobe free to be moved forward.

Then the forward movement of the arms D, carrying the whiflietrees, islimited by the stops w, the forward movement of the swing- IOO IIO

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ing arms G ceases. Stop mechanism of any kind may be attached to theswinging arms G or the slide O to limit the backward and forwardmovement of the said arms or slide.

When it is desired to place the cutter-gangs at an angle to the line ofdraft, the team is first drawn backward. The arlns D, carrying thewhiffietrees, will then be free to move backward. By drawing back thehand-lever the chain-connections Q between the lever and the swingingarms G will draw back the swinging' arms G and the whifi'letrees. Thechain-connections K between the swinging arms G and the free ends of thecutter-gangs will then be slackened. The hand-lever may then be lockedin position, and when-the team is started up, the forward movement ofthe swinging arms G and the whifetrees having been stopped by thelocking of the hand-lever, the body of the harrow and the ends of thecutter-gangs, which are pivoted to the cross-bar B, will move forward,while the free ends of the cutter-gangs are held back by the resistanceof the earth until they take the position shown by the dotted lines inFig. 2. The chain-connections K between the free ends of thecutter-gangs and the swinging arms G under the pole will then becometightened, and the free ends of the cuttergangs move forward with theother portions of the harrow. Vhen it is desired to bring the gangs backagain into a line at right angles to the line of draft, the lever isfirst moved forward and locked in position. The chain-connections Qbetween the lever and the swinging arms G will then be loosened, and theswinging arms G and the arms carrying' the whiffletrees will be free tomove forward. When the team is started in motion, they will draw forwardwith them the whiffietrees and the swinging arms G. When the swinging'arms G are drawn forward` they draw with them the free ends of thecuttergangs. The forward movement of these parts may be continued, whilethe remaining portions of the harrow remain stationary, until thedisk-gangs are at a right angle with the line of draft.

I do not desire to be limited to the specific construction of any of theseveral parts shown and described herein. I claim, broadly, whifiietreesadapted to be moved backward and forward together independently of adoubletree, cross-bar, or pole, in combina-tion with draft-equalizingmechanism having a bodily movement forward and backward in the line ofdraft, with suitable draft-connections fiexibly uniting such equalizingmechanism with the free ends of the cutter-gangs, whereby a backward orforward movement of the whiffletrees will cause a backward or forwardInovement of the free ends of I[he cutter-gangs, whether the whifietreesbe attached to the outer ends of a doubletree or to a cross-bar rigidlysecured to a pole or mounted on arms pivoted to a pole.

The iiexible connections which unite the whiffletrees together,consisting of a chain engaging' with a pulley or an equivalentdevicesuch as rods or chains connected with a pivoted bar movable in ahorizontal planecon stitute draft equalizing mechanism. This mechanismis made movable bodily forward and backward in the line of draft bymeans of a slide or a swinging arm pivoted to a pole. I am aware that itis old to use draft-equalizing mechanism wherein the flexible connectionuniting the whiffletrees has a reciprocating motion crosswise of theline of draft, and I make no claim to such a construction, broadly. Inmy device, in addition to said reciprocating crosswise movement of theflexible connection, there is a forward and backward movement of theentire draft-equalizin g mechanism in the line of draft independently ofthe reciprocating crosswise movement of the part before mentioned,whereby the whiffletrees may be brought closer together at will, and atthe same time have a reciprocating movement.

So far as I am aware I am the first to construct draft-equalizingmechanism having a bodily movement forward and backward in the line ofdraft independently of the crosswise reciprocating movement of certainof its parts.

My invention is applicable to a variety of agricultural implements inaddition to the kind shown herein, and particularly cultivators of theclass known as corn-cultivators and straddle-row cultivators, whereinthe team walk in furrows between lines of growing crops. By means of mypeculiar construction the team may be brought closer together at will bydrawing back the whifiietrees and equalizing mechanism bodily, and theteam be enabled to travel in furrows varying in distance from eachother.

I claim- 1. In a disk harrow, the combination, with a main frame andcutter-gan gs pivoted thereto, of whiflietrees movable forward andbackward together independently of a doubletree, draft-equalizingmechanism movable bodily forward and backward in the line of draft, anddraft-connections flexibly uniting said equalizing mechanism with thefree ends of the cutter-gangs, substantially as shown and described.

2. In a disk harrow, the combination, with a main frame and cutter-gangspivoted thereto, of whiffietrees movable forward and backward togetherindependently of a doubletree, draft-equalizing mechanism movable bodilyforward and backward in the line of draft by means of a swinging armpivoted to the pole, and draft-connections flexibly uniting saidswinging arm with the free ends of thecutter-gangs, substantially asshown and described.

3. In a disk harrow, the combination, with a main frame and cutter-gangspivoted thereto, of whifiietrees movable forward and backward togetherindependently of a doubletree,

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flexible connections uniting said whillletrees and engaging with apulley flexibly attached to a swinging arm pivoted to a pole, anddraftconneetions flexibly uniting said swinging arm with the free endsof the cutter-gangs, substantially as shown and described.

4. In a disk harrow, the combination, with a main frame and cutter-gangspivoted thereto, of whiffletrees mounted upon pivoted arms movabletogether forward and backward on their pivots, draft-equalizin gmechanism movable bodily forward and backward in the liuc of draft, anddraft-connections flexibly uniting said equalizing mechanism with thefree ends of the cu-ttergangs, substantially as shown and described.

5. In a disk harrow, the combination, with a main frame and cutter-gangs pivoted thereto, of whiflletrees mounted upon pivoted arms movabletogether forward and backward on their pivots, draft-equalizingmechanism movable bodily forward and backward in the line of draft,draft-connections flexibly uniting' said equalizin g mechanism with thefree ends of the cutter-gangs, a lever pivoted to a pole, and flexibleconnections uniting said lever and draft-equalizing mechanism,substantially as shown and described.

6. In a disk harrow, the combination, with a main frame and cutter-gangspivoted thereto, of whiffletrees mounted upon pivoted arms movabletogether forward and backward on their pivots, draft-equalizin gmechanism movable bodily forward and backward in the line of draft bymeans'of a swinging arm attached to a pole, draft-connections flexiblyuniting said swinging arm with the free ends of the cutter-gangs, alever pivoted to a pole, andexible connections uniting' said lever andswinging arm, substantially as shown and described.

7. In a disk harrow, the combination, with a main frame and cutter-gangspivoted thereto, of a swinging arm pivoted to a pole and provided with asector, flexible draft-connections uniting said swinging arm with thefree ends of the cutter-gangs, a lever pivoted to the pole, and flexibleconnections attached to said lever and engaging the edge of said sector,substantially as shown and described.

S. The combination, with a pole, of whiffletrees mounted upon pivotedarms, draft-equalizing mechanism movable bodily forward and backward inthe line of draft, an adjustinglever pivoted to the pole, a lockingdevice connected therewith, and flexible connections uniting said leverand equalizing mechanism, substantially as shown and described.

9. The combination, with a pole, of whiflletrees mounted upon pivotedarms and movable together backward and forward in a horizontal plane,draft-equalizing mechanism consisting of flexible connections unitingsaid \vl1iilletiees, engaging with a pulley flexibly attached to aswinging arm pivoted to a pole, an adj usting-lever attached to saidpole and having a locking device connected therewith, and adjustableconnections uniting said lever and swinging arm, substantially as shownand described.

ROBERT WV. l-IARDIE.

ld'litiiesses:

FRED E. WADHAMs, ERNEST B. WENDELL.

